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Former University of Michigan Head Football Coach Sherrone Moore Arrested for Stalking and Breaking and Entering; House Republicans Release Plan for Health Care Reform Which Does Not Include Subsidies for Affordable Care Act Premiums; New Photos Released Showing President Trump and Other Powerful Men with Jeffrey Epstein; American Citizen Detained by ICE in Minneapolis; Army and Navy Military Academies Prepare to Play in 126th Army-Navy College Football Game; U.S. Operation to Escort Venezuelan Opposition Leader and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Maria Corina Machado to Safety Detailed; Parents Whose Son Died of Fentanyl Overdose Interviewed on How They Helped Pass New Law in Georgia to Increase Sentencing for Drug Dealers; Instacart Discovered to be Personalizing Item Prices for Different Members. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired December 13, 2025 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:33]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. citizen arrested. Newly released video shows masked federal agents tackling a 20-year-old Somali American and then putting him in a chokehold. Now he is speaking out.

Plus, Instacart investigation, a new report says the online grocery delivery service is charging different prices for different shoppers, hiking prices as much as 20 percent for the same item.

And later, America's game. We'll take you live to the 126th meeting of the U.S. Army Black Knights and the U.S. Navy Midshipmen.

Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Former University of Michigan head football coach Sherrone Moore is out of jail today after posting bond on Friday following his first court appearance. Prosecutors charged Moore with felony home invasion, misdemeanor stalking, and breaking and entering. They also released troubling details of the alleged incident that led to his arrest on Wednesday. And that came just hours after the school fired him with cause, they say, saying there was credible evidence that he was in an inappropriate relationship with a staffer. Shortly after Moore's termination, prosecutors said he confronted the staffer at her home, which then led to his arrest.

CNN's Leigh Waldman is joining us right now. Leigh, bring us up to speed on what we know about this case.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, it's been a bad week for the former University of Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore and for the university itself. We saw him there at his arraignment dressed in all white, his hands folded before him, not saying much except for "Yes, your honor", directed at the judge there. And now he is facing three charges, including a felony invasion charge, home invasion charge, a misdemeanor stalking charge, and a misdemeanor breaking and entering charge.

Now, the judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. He's been released on a bond and fitted with a GPS tether. But all of this comes from an alleged affair between Moore, who is married with three daughters, and a female staffer. Now we know, according to the prosecutors, that the relationship between that female staffer and Moore ended on Monday. That's when the prosecutor said in court that he began bombarding her with calls and texts that prompted her to go to the university and to report this relationship between the two of them. That prompted the university to then fire Moore. And that's when we see this explosion of anger from him. According to the prosecutors in this case, they said that he went to her home, the female staffer, forced his way inside, and then began to threaten his own life with a pair of kitchen scissors and also with a butter knife.

Now, we do have dispatch audio that speaks to what is being called suicidal behavior from the former head football coach. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Per the Pittsfield unit's reference to domestic calls S1's wife in Ann Arbor saying that the suspect is suicidal from losing his job today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're also advising when he left the location on their call, he walked out with several knives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: Now, in a statement from the university's interim president, they said that "There is absolutely no tolerance for this kind of conduct at the University of Michigan. None. I have been in close communication with the Board of Regents, and we are united in committing to doing what is right here."

Now, Fred, we're hearing from sources that say the relationship between Moore and this female staffer over the past two years was a well-known secret at the university, an open secret on this campus, and an initial investigation by the university itself went absolutely nowhere. And we know at this point they have hired an outside firm to conduct a new investigation. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And then Leigh, this comes as the university's athletic department has kind of been undergoing a whole lot of questions about the culture of, you know, activity there. So what more can you tell us?

WALDMAN: Yes, let's run through the past few incidents from the University of Michigan here, this athletics department, not new to a type of scandal. They released their men's hockey coach for having -- for finding the program had a toxic environment, including pressuring students to lie about COVID-19 contact tracing and verbally assaulting female staff members.

[14:05:11]

They suspended their men's head basketball coach after he smacked an opposing assistant coach. They fired the co-offensive coordinator for the men's football team, Matt Weiss, after police say he hacked students accounts, stealing intimate photos, mostly of women. He has pleaded not guilty to federal charges stemming from that.

They were at the epicenter of the sign stealing scandal, and the football staff was involved in recruiting violations. Moore was previously suspended for his role in all of that. So, Fred, this begs the question here, are these isolated incidents or a culture of misconduct? And that's what the investigators are working to determine.

WHITFIELD: All right, lots of questions. Leigh Waldman, thanks so much.

All right, with just days left until health care premiums are set to skyrocket for tens of millions of Americans, House Republicans have released a plan they say will bring down costs. Yesterday, Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a new, narrow package that leaves out Obamacare subsidies, marking the GOP's latest effort to counter Democrats' push to extend them before they expire at the end of this month.

CNN's Camila DeChalus is in Washington with more on the proposal. Camila, what's in it?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Fred, just days before the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire, like you mentioned, the House Republicans just laid out their long anticipated health care proposal. And here's what we know so far. Now, the plan does not extend these enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. And this is the issue that really triggered the last government shutdown that lasted for more than 40 days. Instead, this proposal focuses on expanding the availability of association health plans, allowing employers to really band together to purchase coverage. It also includes new transparency requirements for pharmacy benefit managers in an effort to try to bring these costs down.

And House GOP leaders really outline this framework, saying that they're trying to bring it to the floor, the House floor next week for a vote. And this is really coming at a pivotal time. Now, just the House minority leader, Hakeem Jefferies, had a lot to say about it, calling it a disaster. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES, (D-NY) HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Republicans control the House and the Senate. They made the decision to shut the government down rather than work with Democrats to extend the Affordable Care Act. Their health care package, as I understand it, is likely to be a disaster. (END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, this is really pivotal because this proposal and the announcement of it is really coming after just earlier this week, the Senate tried to vote on two competing health care proposals, and both of them ultimately failed. And it really just shows and highlights just how partizan the gridlock remains on Capitol Hill, especially around what to do around these enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. And that's where were standing at this point in time. Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Camila DeChalus in Washington, thanks so much.

All right, and now this breaking news. Two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in an attack in central Syria earlier today. Three others were wounded, and that's according to the Department of Defense. The Syrian national news agency says the group came under fire while on a joint patrol with Syrian forces. CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook is at the White House for us. So Julia, what more are you hearing about this?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, President Donald Trump actually just spoke with us as he departed to go to the Army/Navy game. He didn't take many questions, but he did speak about Syria. He said that he mourns the loss of these Americans who lost their life. He said this was an ambush. He said it was an ISIS attack both on the U.S. and Syria. We have his full remarks to play for you now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: So we mourn the loss of three great patriots in Syria. You know how it happened, an ambush. Terrible. We also have three wounded. They seem to be doing pretty well. But we mourn the loss. These are great, three great people. And it's just a terrible thing.

Syria, by the way, was fighting along with us. The president, the new president of Syria is, as they told me, and I'm not surprised, he's devastated by what happened. This was an ISIS attack on us and Syria. And again, we mourn the loss and we pray for them and their parents and their loved ones. Very, very sad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, will the U.S. retaliate against ISIS?

TRUMP: Yes, we will.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what if U.S. forces are attacked again.

TRUMP: You're going to be --

(CROSS TALK)

TRUMP: We will retaliate. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BENBROOK: So you hear him say very clearly there, "We will retaliate." According to Syria's official national news agency, this attack happened as U.S. soldiers were on a joint patrol with Syrian forces and a U.S. helicopter intervened to help evacuate the wounded.

[14:10:06]

I do want to pull up a statement from Sean Parnell. He is a spokesperson for the Pentagon. He said, quote, "The attack occurred as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement. Their mission was in support of ongoing counter ISIS counterterrorism operations in the region. The soldiers' names as well as identifying information about their units are being withheld until 24 hours after the next of kin notification. This attack is currently under active investigation."

In another post, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the attacker was killed by partner forces, and he went on to say this, quote, "Let it be known, if you target Americans anywhere in the world, you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you."

So of course, we will be paying attention for any developments. But as you hear from the secretary of defense, as you hear from the president of the United States, there will be plans to retaliate in some way. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Benbrook at the White House, thanks so much.

All right, still ahead, new photos of Jeffrey Epstein with high profile people, including President Trump. The president says it's no big deal. But new polling on how Americans feel is painting a very different picture.

Plus, rough waters, disguises, and a secret rendezvous in the cover of darkness. A special forces veteran takes us inside the dangerous mission to get Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado out of Venezuela.

And combating a crisis, a new Georgia law is holding the drug dealers accountable for fentanyl overdose deaths. I'll speak to the parents who fought for that change after the heartbreaking loss of their son.

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[14:16:36]

WHITFIELD: All right, we're seeing new photos that show some of the world's most powerful men with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. House Democrats releasing nearly 90 new photos from the Epstein estate to the public on Friday. And some of those photos serving as new evidence of President Trump's relationship with Epstein. The president downplaying the photos when asked about it last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What were your reaction to those new photos that were released?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I haven't seen them, but, I mean, everybody knew this man. He was all over Palm Beach. He has photos with everybody. I mean, almost, there are hundreds and hundreds of people that have photos with them, so that's no big deal. I know nothing about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A recent poll from Reuters-Ipsos shows that 60 percent of American adults believe President Trump knew about Epstein's crimes before they became public. Other power players in the photos include former president Bill Clinton, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, and former Harvard President Larry Summers. None of the images released depict any sexual misconduct, and none of the pictured men has been accused of any wrongdoing. Democrats on the committee defending the release to CNN's Victor Blackwell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Democrats on House Oversight released some of the photos from the Epstein estate that it received as a result of a subpoena. Republicans on House Oversight say this, Oversight Democrats are chasing headlines by releasing a handful of selectively censored and cherrypicked photos from the Epstein estate." And they say that you and other Democrats should be ashamed of your disgusting behavior, putting politics above justice for the survivors. What's your response?

REP. JASMINE CROCKETT, (D-TX): I will say that, number one, the Republicans didn't want to do anything as it relates to the survivors. I mean, think about the fact that when it came down to even getting a vote on the floor, we couldn't get Republicans to sign on to the discharge petition. Finally, we were able to get that all done once they finally swore in Adelita Grijalva. So don't talk to me about what's disgusting, because we know that they don't stand for the survivors whatsoever.

At the end of the day, we are getting information, but were not getting information because Trump's DOJ is releasing that information. We're getting information because the Epstein estate is releasing information. And in this latest tranche, we're talking about 95,000. So yes, I mean, we're not necessarily for us, for our purposes saying, well, here's the full 95,000. Everybody go at it. We are obviously picking out and making sure people can see some of the more kind of interesting things.

BLACKWELL: Yes, sure, 19 of 95,000 photographs, which is, I did the quick math, 0.02 percent of these photos. And what are people supposed to learn from a photo of the president with six redacted photos of women or, or a Trump condom? Why pick those and release those if you're not chasing a narrative? CROCKETT: Well, listen, I think that obviously the narrative is

around the president and women. Obviously, the narrative is around the fact that he was with Epstein. The narrative is around the fact that Epstein was an abuser. And so if we're seeing that there's these large groups of women that are also around the president, if we're seeing that they're talking about things like condoms, like, I'm sorry. I mean, I'm 44 years old, but I don't remember -- and if somebody knows of something like this, but there's never been like a Jasmine condom situation.

[14:20:00]

And so when we're talking about sex trafficking, I think that that is very relevant. And so we need to know what all is in the rest of the files. And this is to keep the pressure up for people to say, we need to know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The White House released a statement accusing House Democrats of, I'm quoting now, "selectively releasing cherrypicked photos with random redactions," end quote.

All right, up next, violent detainment, a U.S. citizen put in a chokehold, tackled and arrested by masked federal agents in Minnesota. What the administration is saying about the incident.

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WHITFIELD: All right, we're following a developing story out of Minnesota, where ICE agents detained a Somali American man on his lunch break.

[14:25:03]

This is disturbing video showing the 20-year-old being forced to the ground in the snow, as you see right there. Then he was put into the back of an SUV, even though he says he told the agents he is a U.S. citizen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUBASHIR, DETAINED BY ICE: All I did was step outside as a Somali American, and I just got chased by a masked person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Rafael Romo is joining me now with more on this. This young man appears to be terrified in the video, but he very succinctly, you know, went through the chronology of events. This was a horrifying experience for him.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: He says very horrifying. And there are so many questions that have yet to be answered. ICE has answered some of them, but not exactly why specifically he was being targeted. And Fred, the Somali American, says he asked the agents multiple times to give him an opportunity to identify himself and prove, because he has he had proof for him, that he is a U.S. citizen, but says he was not allowed to do so.

The confrontation began when the 20-year-old stepped outside into the snowy Minneapolis winter weather to take his lunch break. The man, who asked to be identified only as Mubashir, says he saw a masked federal officer running toward him at what he called full speed. Within seconds, the agent tackled him, forced him into the back entryway of a restaurant, and restrained him, according to Mubashir's account and video footage of the incident.

After being handcuffed by two agents, Mubashir says one of them put him in a chokehold while he was on his knees on the snow covered street before forcing him into a gray SUV that appeared to be unmarked. You can hear there the onlookers can be heard yelling out in protest. At a new conference hosted by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey the day after the incident, Mubashir talked about what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUBASHIR, DETAINED BY ICE: I felt like I was being assaulted. I was getting kidnapped, and that's exactly what it was. And the way they were treating me, it was inhumane. They dragged me across the road. They slammed me to the ground, choked me. That's uncalled for.

MAYOR JACOB FREY, (D) MINNEAPOLIS: This is a person that was leaving for his lunch break. This was a person who was out on the street doing literally nothing wrong. And what we saw by these ICE agents, they clearly did not know what they were doing, was violence and unwillingness to hear the simple truth, which he was repeating again and again, which is, I'm an American citizen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: The Department of Homeland Security disputed Mubashir version of the story, telling CNN that the agents and the Somali American young men were having what they described as a, quote, "consensual conversation" with a suspected undocumented immigrant near a location that has a high level of criminal activity. When Mubashir walked out of a nearby restaurant, turned around, and fled from law enforcement, giving the agents reasonable suspicion to chase him. They said he violently resisted officers and refused to answer questions.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has called for a review of all recent federal arrests, and a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem expressing concern over the detentions of Mubashir and other U.S. citizens in his state. And we just heard the mayor, he was very, very concerned, not to say livid, about what happened there in his city.

WHITFIELD: Right. Even the police chief would later comment, too, saying he was embarrassed that some of the people who detained the young man had the word "police" on it, and he said he did not in any way condone that behavior.

ROMO: Yes, that's right. And he went as far as apologizing on behalf of the city for what had happened. WHITFIELD: It was extraordinary. All right, let us know as you learn

more. Thanks so much, Rafael Romo, appreciate it.

All right, a U.S. special forces veteran whose team rescued Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado from Venezuela, is telling his story to CNN.

Bryan Stern said this rescue was unlike anything his team has done before. Machado, who is the leading critic of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, had been in hiding for some time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYAN STERN, GREY BULL RESCUE: Doing boats, doing planes, doing ground movements with high threat. We do this stuff as a matter of course for rescue. However, because of her face, because of her signature, and because the entire Venezuelan intelligence service, the entire Cuban intelligence service, parts of the Russian intelligence service were all looking for her for months, and specifically this, this week in particular because of the Nobel Prize, made this operation significantly more high risk than we've ever done before. And overwhelmingly, this is the hardest, most high profile, most delicate operation we've conducted.

[14:30:00]

Maria is known as the iron lady, and she absolutely lives up to that name. She is a very, very, very resolute and tough, just tough leader and tough woman. When we were on the boat together, we talked about this, and I begged her not to go back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Incredible. At the ceremony, Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, Maria Corina Machado's daughter accepted the prize on her behalf. The two were later reunited for their first time in two years now.

All right, straight ahead, we'll take you to one of college football's greatest traditions, the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy game. A live report next.

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[14:35:25]

WHITFIELD: All right, one of college football's most celebrated rivalries is set to kick off in the next hour in Baltimore, or Baltimore. Today's Army-Navy game will be the 126th meeting between the two military academies, and honors the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. CNN's Coy Wire is there braving the cold. I mean, this just goes with the territory, right? It's never an Army- Navy game like in a balmy conditions. It's always like one of the coldest days.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Football weather, Fredricka. Got to love it. Since 1890, this game has been one of the greatest sporting spectacles on the planet. Ten sitting U.S. presidents have attended. President Donald Trump has already arrived here to attend his fifth time as president and to witness this tradition, the pageantry, like the flyovers, the march on, the Golden Knights and the Leapfrogs parachuting in. We asked both teams about the atmosphere surrounding one of the greatest sports rivalries in the world. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDON THOMAS, ARMY LINEBACKER: I've never gotten the chills running out to a college, or a football game in general, and I did.

BRIAN NEWBERRY, NAVY COACH: The patriotic feeling and the and the pride you get from being a part of this is indescribable.

KALIB FORTNER, ARMY LINEBACKER: This game, seriously a bucket list thing. It's a, you know, an atmosphere. You have to be here to really kind of soak it in.

BLAKE HORVATH, NAVY QUARTERBACK: Its just really, really special to have 80,000 people in this game and be the NFL stadium. And it's one of the loudest games I've ever been a part of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now, Fredricka, there is ultimate mutual respect in this rivalry. But as the 34th president of the United States who played for Army, Dwight Eisenhower, once said, Army and Navy are the best of friends 364-and-a-half days of the year. But on this one Saturday afternoon, they are the worst of enemies.

So imagine how awkward it is for two siblings from a divided house. Sophia Notaro, Naval Academy studying engineering, a long jumper and triple jumper on their track team, and her older brother Anthony Notaro. He's 21. He's a computer science major there at Army West Point. I caught up with them moments ago on the field to ask about this precarious situation they find themselves in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY NOTARO: She's my sister 364 days out of the year.

SOPHIA NOTARO: Yes, were still we still have a little beef. Just for today.

ANTHONY NOTARO: You never know what could happen. It's a rivalry game. It's the biggest game of the year. Last year, it was a reverse situation. Army was favored. We lost. Navy came back. Army is going to do that this year.

WIRE: Why are you giggling.

SOPHIA NOTARO: I mean, the Navy way is show up, do what we need to do. And the results will speak for themselves, I think.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WIRE: This game represents intensity, passion and innovation. Fredricka, did you know that several of the inventions are credited to this game, like the helmet and slow motion replay that we all enjoy today from this Army-Navy game. Special individuals dedicated to their studies, willing to sacrifice everything for everyone watching. These are the types of athletes we need to celebrate more. Kickoff is at 3:00 eastern. It is about to be on, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: It sure is. I mean, hey, just brother and sister, you see it right there. I mean, that just really exemplified the rivalry. But I love that, you know, for they really are together and love each other. That's fun.

WIRE: That's right.

WHITFIELD: I'm glad you found them. All right, Coy Wire, thanks so much. We'll check back with you.

WIRE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, straight ahead, the emotional and heartbreaking story that led to a new law in Georgia targeting the dangers of fentanyl. We'll speak with the parents who turned their grief into action.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Two convicted drug dealers from Georgia will spend decades in prison for their role in a fatal fentanyl overdose. They are the first to be convicted under the state's new Austin's law, named after Austin Walters, who died in 2021. The new law lets prosecutors charge fentanyl dealers with an upgraded charge of aggravated involuntary manslaughter. This holds anyone accountable if they knowingly sell or manufacture a substance that leads to a fentanyl overdose death. The higher charge brings with it the possibility of life in prison.

Carroll County sentenced a man to 40 years and a woman for 30 years as the state's first convictions. Austin's law went into effect April of 2024, and now more counties across Georgia are prosecuting cases under the new statute.

Joining us right now are Austin's parents, Gus and Beth Walters. They're from Georgia. Good to see both of you. I know this is very difficult to talk about, even this many years after your son's death. But at the same time, this is something you have helped advocate bring you know, to bear this Austin's law.

[14:45:00]

So first tell us what happened, Beth, you know, to your son Austin, who had told you that he was feeling anxious lately and that people didn't understand his feelings and would instead say to him, you know, man up. That's what I understand he told you. Then what?

BETH WALTERS, FENTANYL-LACED XANAX PILL KILLED SON AUSTIN: Situation stigma being attached to that sort of anxiety. So Austin bought a pill off of the street, and it was laced with fentanyl, and it killed him pretty much instantly. He was life flighted, and they tried their best to bring him back to life. But that didn't happen for us.

So when the dust kind of began to settle, we realized that we needed to get in touch with the police detectives, and we did so. And what we found out was, even though he died from a pill that was laced with fentanyl, it was not an overdose. It would only be a misdemeanor. And I can remember feeling a gut punch that day like I have never experienced in my life, because I thought, my child is dead. What do you mean it's only going to be a misdemeanor?

And so that's when Gus and I started putting our heads together and saying, there's more we can do. We can't change what happened to our son, but we might be able to change what has happened, what could happen to other people's children and grandchildren.

WHITFIELD: And Gus, I mean, that was quite a moment. You know, every family, everyone grieves differently. But you decided to turn your grief into action. And that pill on the street, Beth, right, was a Xanax, but come to find out, or at least that was his understanding. It was laced with fentanyl. So then, Gus, what was your experience? What was the journey in trying to seek justice after your sons death?

GUS WALTERS, FENTANYL-LACED XANAX PILL KILLED SON AUSTIN: Yes. So, I started doing some research about the laws in the state of Georgia and realized that it wasn't going to be an offense that charges would be brought just because the laws weren't strong enough to go after individuals. They could always hide behind the fact we didn't know that it had fentanyl in it.

And so I started emailing Russ Goodman, our senator, in this part of the state, and sent him several emails over the course of a year. And then he followed up that information with the lieutenant governor's office, and his legal team and the lieutenant governor's office got some other legal advisors together, and they started structuring a new law for the state of Georgia. And that's how the birth of Austin's law came about.

We started making trips to the capital and sitting in hearings, judiciary hearings, and crafting the law a little bit more. And it certainly, it touched so many people. We had numerous legislators during our trips up there come up and tell us how impactful our story was and how much grief that they had seen themselves in the state of Georgia because of fentanyl. And that's why the law passed unanimously in the Senate and in the House of Representatives.

WHITFIELD: And in fact, in 2023, there were 2,570 overdose deaths in Georgia, according to the CDC. And I know that the two of you have said that, you know, you don't want to bring harm to anyone, but at the same time, people selling things knowingly or unknowingly laced with fentanyl are putting other lives in danger. I mean, how did you -- of course you want to justice for your son. But at the same time, Beth, how did you also try to broaden this out so that other families were not potentially going through what you all had been going through? BETH WALTERS: Well, until this situation came up with us. We had

never even heard the word "fentanyl." We knew nothing about it. And what that told me was we needed to have some educational points out there. There's no way my son would have taken a pill that he thought was going to kill him. And so, because we didn't know about fentanyl, maybe he didn't know about fentanyl. And there are other families, there are people all over that have never heard of it. Now it's more in the news.

But the fact of the matter is, you don't know when you're getting a pill that's laced with fentanyl, or cocaine that's laced with fentanyl, marijuana that's laced with fentanyl. And now we're finding out vape pens have fentanyl in them, too. And so what we're trying to do is educate through our tragedy and make people understand that there is no -- fentanyl, doesn't care who you are. It doesn't care what color you -- what your financial background is. It doesn't care anything about anybody. It kills.

WHITFIELD: What do you want people to know about Austin, besides now the legacy of Austin's law?

[14:50:03]

GUS WALTERS: Awesome. He was just a wonderful young man. He loved life and he loved people. He loved the outdoors more than anything else. He worked as a John Deere tractor salesman and absolutely loved talking to people that worked outdoors. That was just his personality.

You know, when I was thinking through what we were going to talk about today, when we had the viewing, this speaks to the kind of person that he was. When we had the viewing upon his death, a young lady came up to me who was friends with Austin, probably 10 or 12 years ago, and pulled me off to the side. And she said, I just want you to know that I still love Austin. As a matter of fact, I'm wearing a bracelet that he gave me in the eighth grade right now. And that's the kind of person he was. He just -- he loved his family dearly and he loved his friends tremendously.

WHITFIELD: That's beautiful. Gus and Beth Walters, thank you so much for sharing your story, your experience, and now as being advocates, sharing so much about your journey that's impacting so many lives.

GUS WALTERS: Well, thank you. Thank you for allowing us to share our --

BETH WALTERS: Thank you kindly.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much.

All right, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:56:01]

WHITFIELD: All right, listen up. Your convenience shopping may come with more strings and higher costs attached. A new investigation by "Consumer Reports" found that Instacart was charging higher prices to different customers for the same items. The platform has said apparently it was using A.I. to figure out how much shoppers might be willing to pay for certain items. The report says the motive was confirmed after an email exchange between Instacart and Costco was accidentally sent to "Consumer Reports."

The platform responded to CNN, saying, I'm quoting now, "Limited, short term, and randomized tests," end quote, helps retailers decide which essential items to keep affordable for customers.

Joining me right now to discuss is Justin Brookman, a director of tech policy for "Consumer Reports." Justin, does that explanation seem fair

JUSTIN BROOKMAN, DIRECTOR OF TECH POLICY, "CONSUMER REPORTS": Yes, that's exactly right. We have been worried about personalized pricing for a while. It's not like when you go to the grocery store, you see Cheerios for $5, everyone gets the same price. Now we're looking at our computers, on our phones. Companies are more and more sophisticated and have the ability to do this.

We had heard rumors about Instacart from one of our, we got a tip from one of our collaborators, Katie Wells at Groundwork Collaborative. And so we recruited a "Consumer Reports" members, got about 400 people, sent them to go shop at the same time, look for the same items, buy the same exact things at the same exact time. And we were surprised that most of the items, actually, people got different prices for it.

WHITFIELD: Is it still happening?

BROOKMAN: So Instacart hasn't said they're stopping it. They released a statement. They said most of our people, most of our customers don't do this. About 10 stores do. We encourage stores to actually charge the same that they do in the store to Instacart subscribers. But they still let people do it. They actually offer the technology that lets people randomize prices or charge different prices to different members, so they're not stopping it.

WHITFIELD: Wow. So if you're a customer and you're noticing, wait a minute. I bought that last week and it was this. And this week it's that. I mean, what recourse do they have? And especially now I guess based on this study or this kind of evidence, is there better recourse or other options that customers have now?

BROOKMAN: Yes. I mean, you know, it's probably not illegal. So, so you can tell your congressman there, there have been bills introduced at the state level. Senator Gallego introduced one in the Senate earlier this week. There are a few tricks you can try. Sometimes just opening something in different browser will help. Actually, I was doing some Christmas shopping earlier today. And one browser said 15 percent off. One browser said 10 percent off for the same exact item.

Sometimes if you look on your phone, right, like that actually might be different. You can have a friend look. If you really want to get complicated, you can try to use a VPN. But people shouldn't have to do this. There should be one price. WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, while it may not be illegal, as you say, but

it sure does seem unfair, and at the very least unethical.

BROOKMAN: Yes, absolutely. We conducted a survey last year and asked, should Instacart be charging different prices to different people? And 72 percent said absolutely not. Under no circumstances. I'm actually surprised that wasn't higher.

We, you know, our personalized shoppers who volunteered and spent their time to do this for us, they said they were surprised by this. You're already paying a surcharge to Instacart to have it delivered. You expect that the price is going to be the same for everyone. And I think this story, I think, has resonated with a lot of people. And I think a lot of people are starting to become aware that, unfortunately, this is starting to happen more often.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And I'm kind of rethinking it even more. What you said, you said it's not illegal, but isn't that stealing? I mean, isn't there something wrong here?

BROOKMAN: Yes. I mean, there's an argument, right? I mean, we have consumer protection law in this country. You can argue that it was deceptive, that people would have wanted to know this. Instacart actually bragged in some of their earnings materials --